Tigray People’s Democratic Movement (TPDM) announces merger with TPLF

Less than two years ago, TPDM was in Eritrea determined to fight against TPLF led administration. Now, leaders of the organization are back in Tigray and have decided to merge with TPLF.

Photo credit : DW Amharic

borkenaDecember 9, 2019

Tigray People’s Democratic Movement (TPDM) announced on Monday that it has merged with Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) – an organization that dominated the EPRDF coalition for nearly three decades and currently governing Tigray region of Ethiopia.

TPDM was an armed movement with nearly 2,000 combatants based in Eritrea and was allegedly fighting against TPLF. It was believed that the Eritrean government supported the armed movement in terms of logistics and military training for more than 18 years, among other things. It returned to the country in September 2018 after Abiy Ahmed became Prime Minister in April 2018 and the movement returned home “to continue the struggle peacefully.”

According to a report by DW Amharic on Monday, TPLF admired the decision of TPDM to work with TPLF.

“TPDM decided to end its existence and merge with TPLF after evaluating the current political situation in Ethiopia,” Mekonen Tesfay, who is chairman of the movement, is cited as saying during his interview with DW Amharic.

Apparently, TPDM did not call members congress to pass the decision. Rather, it is the executive committee and central committee of the movement that passed the decision to merge with TPLF, according to Mekonen Tesfay.

Elaborating as to what informed the decision to merge with TPLF; the chairman says “the danger hovering on the people of Tigray is increasing.”

He also reflected on the difference with TPLF in the past. “TPDM did not have a difference with TPLF other than issues of good governance and democracy,” he said.

DW Amharic reached out to TPLF to get remarks on the merger. Tekie Mitiku, TPLF central committee member and head of the region’s security, said the movement’s decision “conveys the message that the people of Tigray will collaborate in difficult times.” He also praised the movement for the decision it passed.

TPLF is seemingly working on a project of organizing what it calls “Federalist Forces” with the aim to resist the formation of Prosperity Party – a party formed by three former members of the ruling coalition EPRDF and five other ally parties. The “Federalist Forces” have reached to the point of forming a forum.”

Members of TPDM who returned from “armed struggle in Eritrea” were integrated into the region’s police force and other government structures. Apparently, the region’s structure did not absorb all of the TPDM combatants. There were those who had to find employment in the private sector as well.

TPDM were mostly composed of the Tigrayan people that the late PM Meles Zenawi ordered to fight the Badme war in 1998 with them saying no to his order, since then Meles treated them as enemies hunting them down so they went into exile to Eritrea and decided to fight against Meles, now with the Abiy’s call of pardon reform TPDM returned to Tigrai resoecting PM Abiy’s call to return to Ethiopia but since Abiy got no power in Tigrai it seems now TPLF swallowed them.

Abiy is not able to command his troops. Abiy is unable to order his troops to leave out of Badme and he does not want the whole world to know about it. Ethiopia is a lawless country with ño set hierarchy of system put to work. Vigilantes got more power and more hierarchy than the government security apparatus got.

If I do recall correctly the Ethio-Etitrean war which caused close to 180 thousand people to die and unknown amount of people to remain disabled, was said to be caused because of a border dispute. To end the border dispute the Algiers agreement was made between Eritrea and Ethiopia exactly 19 years ago December 10th 2020 , the 19th anniversary day Abiy is expected to receive the Nobel Prize at the ceremony, Ethiopia agreed to end hostility by moving her troops out of the area known as Badme onDecember 10th 2000, that did not happen until now. 19 years later Ethiopian troops are still in Badme with no sign of moving out. The same date 19 years later ( DECEMBER 10th ) Abiy Ahmed is receiving his Nobel Prize and the 945 thousand dollars cash prize that comes along with it. If it wasn’t for the cash Abiy wouldn’t even have showed up to receive this Nobel Prize. For a man that gets an equivalent of three hundred USD dollars salary a month, 945 thousand USD cash means so much for his wife and four children. Abiy is unable to order his troops and he does not want the whole world to know about it. In Badme for the last 29 years the pastoralists/soldiers started their own livelihood which they don’t intend to loose without a fight.

It seems Tigray is coming to its sense. It is NOT the multiple of parties that count but the quality and common sense to know the TRUE benefit for the Tigrayan People and ultimate benefit for GREATER ETHIOPIA. Full Stop. Period. Anything else is tantamount to the disintegration of the ancient liberated country in Africa — Ethiopia. Who will gain from that catastrophe?

TPDM were mostly the ex TPLF fighters who fought Derg bravely under the real Meles’s leadership not being told the real Meles’s death at the time of his death. These fighters fought Derg till the end not being aware the real Meles was killed and an imposter Legesse took his name and his post. In 1991 when they saw Legesse on TV for the first time hearing him saying he is Meles , many were angry eventually diserting TPLG going to Eritrea to fight Legesse who they claimed need to be held responsible for the real Meles’s death and for TPLF being led wrongly ever since. No amount of bribe offered by Legesse made them change their minds. They got the true Tigrayan spirits by holding on to the original Ethiopians TPLF fighters spirit.